City-Level Decoupling-Case Studies

awareness-raising activities was to stimulate a voluntary spirit, so that members of the community, irrespective of class or values might come together to help clean out the tank. Here the efforts to appeal across class and caste boundaries can be seen to have backfired: despite the origins of the leader of the Puduvellam initiative, he could not successfully engage other middle-class residents who were reluctant to ‘muck in' with those of a lesser social standing, and instead came to view Puduvellam as a charitable cause. Instead of taking ownership of the project, the middle class separated themselves as an influential external group who employed the poor to clean the tank, but did not partner with them to build social cohesion between the classes.

The Marundeeswarar Temple Tank, Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai following restoration and the installation of barricades (Source: Pushpa Arabindoo, 2011)

The objective of the project – as a means of groundwater recharge – became confused with efforts to beautify the area through the removal of encroachments and regeneration of the tank and its surroundings. In spite of this apparent change in focus, Puduvellam ’s vision of stormwater drains redirecting water into a clean, functional tank was realised. Although its potential may not have been maximised, the temple tank contributed to the environmental sustainability of the area by harnessing the rains as a means of sustaining the level of the water table. Issues of social justice, however, were largely ignored as middle-class residents continued to access water through private bore wells which adversely affected groundwater supplies and reduced the yields of other wells across the metropolis. 270 The poorer communities experienced a further injustice as barricades were erected around the tank once work was completed, also depriving INTACH of its vision of the area as a democratic space. As the crisis abated, momentum for the project slowed. A conclusive evaluation of the success of the Puduvellam initiative, or indeed rainwater harvesting across Chennai has been near impossible. The Indian Ocean Tsunami in December 2004, followed by intense flooding as a result of the northeast monsoons in 2005 changed the focus of discussions. More recently, attempts have been made to resuscitate the temple tank with varying degrees of success, but the opening of the Minjur

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